


take my hand

by adabarbacarisi



Series: exchange fics [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Christmas, Family Feels, M/M, Marriage Proposal, New Year's Eve, also there's a dog we love dogs, oh and there's a minor injury but don't worry, y'all know I love married barisi more than anything and this is them on their way to that!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28437645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adabarbacarisi/pseuds/adabarbacarisi
Summary: Rafael attends his first Carisi Christmas and Sonny receives an unexpected gift.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Series: exchange fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850608
Comments: 11
Kudos: 46
Collections: Barisi Holiday Exchange 2020





	take my hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSleepyProducer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSleepyProducer/gifts).



> I chose my giftee’s second prompt, which was for a barisi proposal at a Carisi Christmas party.

_"Take my hand, take my whole life too._   
_For I can't help falling in love with you."_

* * *

Rafael had a plan. A good plan, he thought. Propose to Sonny, his partner of more than two years and the love of his life, on New Year’s Eve so that they can enter the new year together engaged to be married. Rafael was certain he did not want to wait any longer to be Sonny’s fiancé, or for Sonny to be his. 

Not everything works out exactly as one would hope though does it? 

But sometimes, if you are lucky, things turn out even better than you could imagine.

*******

There is a chill in the air, the temperature dropping steadily in New York as the city settles into midwinter. Cars line the roads and the bridges, a procession of people eager to get home to be with their loved ones for the holiday. Many leaving the state altogether and braving the last minute travel rush and some, like Rafael and Sonny, only going as far as another borough. They are about halfway across the Verrazano, Brooklyn and Manhattan behind them, when Sonny reaches over and takes Rafael’s hand in his.

“Any last minute doubts?”

“None,” Rafael assures him. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” Sonny smiles at him and squeezes his hand. “This is going to be the best Christmas, because you’ll be there too.”

Sometimes Rafael can’t believe this man is his, that he gets to have this in his life now. A man that loves him, every part of him, and wants him to spend Christmas with his family.

It is Christmas Eve morning as they drive to Sonny’s family home, and the plan is to stay there until the 26th. From there they will journey again, but upstate this time to a beautiful cabin they have booked for a whole week so they can relax and see in the new year just the two of them. They have been together for more than two years now and have never been able to arrange more than a long weekend away so this trip is going to be special.

Rafael has an engagement ring carefully packed in his luggage. It is a simple band but beautiful. His heart beats a little faster whenever he thinks about it and imagines it on Sonny’s finger.

*******

Sonny’s mother pulls her son into a fierce hug the moment they walk in the door, and Sonny hugs her back just as tightly. He has not been able to get home as much he would have liked to this year, and he has missed her more than he had previously realised. When they separate she hugs Rafael too, gently this time but still lovingly.

“It’s nice to see you again, Rafael. Thank you for bringing my boy home.”

“You too, Tessa. Thank you for having me.”

“Oh, please. You’re practically family now.”

She winks at him and Rafael wonders if she can sense that there is a ring. 

A rush of sound reaches Rafael’s ears as Sonny’s sisters, niece, and even the family dog come to greet them. Hugs, kisses, and teasing comments are exchanged and Rafael watches Sonny settle into his role as son, brother, and uncle with comfortable ease. His shoulders relax, his smile brightens, and Rafael falls a little bit more in love at the sight.

They take their bags upstairs to Sonny’s old bedroom, which his mother converted into a guest room a long time ago, before Sonny heads down to the kitchen to get stuck into the food preparation. Rafael joins his (hopefully) future sisters in law in the living room to help set up for the Carisi Christmas Eve party.

*******

That evening, Rafael and Sonny are back in the guest room getting themselves ready for the party. Rafael is deciding between two sweaters when he feels Sonny’s hands on his hips, the long line of his body against his back. Sonny slides his hands around Rafael’s front and hugs him close.

“Thank you for agreeing to come this year,” he says.

Rafael tilts his head back to rest against Sonny’s shoulder. “I want to be where you are.”

Sonny hums and presses a kiss on Rafael’s neck, a warm flush beginning to spread through them both. “You know, I've never brought a guy home before.” Another kiss. “I never had anyone in this room in high school.” A flick of his tongue against Rafael’s pulse point. “So this is pretty special, don’t you think?”

Rafael bites his lip and presses back against him, wanting so badly to see where this flirtation could lead. But they don’t have much time, the rest of the Carisi’s will be here soon. Maybe just a little fun. He turns in Sonny’s embrace and wraps his arms around his neck. One glance at Sonny’s lips and then they are making out, dirty and slow like teenagers. The kind of kiss that teenage Sonny would have dreamed about in this very room. Rafael is all too happy to fulfill that fantasy.

“You’re such a tease, Detective.”

Sonny laughs, a low sexy sound that makes Rafael’s stomach tighten. “Look who’s talkin'.”

Rafael kisses him again, wishing they had more time so he could throw his lover down onto the bed behind him and see just how long he could stay quiet.

Suddenly there is a knocking at the door and Bella shouts, “Stop fuckin’ in there, ma wants everyone downstairs!”

“Alright, alright, we’re coming!” Sonny shouts back.

Bella laughs as she heads for the stairs, “I fuckin' hope not!”

Sonny groans, Rafael chuckles at the sibling antics, and then they quickly finish getting ready.

*******

The party is in full swing, Rafael is surrounded by Italians and he has a delicious drink in his hand. It is the best Christmas Eve he has experienced in a long time. He never thought a gathering like this would be his type of thing, but then he fell in love with a certain particularly passionate Italian man and he discovered there were a lot of things he still didn't know about himself. 

Sonny is near the Christmas tree with a blond haired infant on his hip (a nephew or a younger cousin perhaps, Rafael lost track of which distant relative is who a couple of drinks ago), talking animatedly with his father. Seeing Sonny in his element with his family fills Rafael with warmth, he looks forward to Sonny to be his family officially and not just his partner.

He watches as Sonny pulls out his phone and then hands the child off to a women, his mother presumably. He walks over to where Rafael is sitting comfortably with the dog half on his lap (a handsome black labrador called Hugo). “Timer just went off, wanna come with me while I take the cookies out of the oven?”

Rafael looks down at the dog apologetically, “Sorry bud, baked goods are calling my name.”

The kitchen smells divine when they walk in, freshly baked cookies and spice. Sonny turns the oven off and grabs a glove. As he is taking the batch out of the oven and placing the tray next to the wire cooling rack, Rafael’s mouth moves before his brain realises what is happening. Maybe it is the alcohol, maybe it is the festive buzz in the air, or maybe it is just love.

“Marry me.”

That is when Sonny’s ungloved hand slips in shock, and he burns himself.

“Shit! Sonny, sink, sink!” Rafael exclaims, quickly turning on the cold tap and helping Sonny get his arm under the facet. 

Sonny is quiet with shock. Not at the quick burn of pain he just experienced, but at the words he just heard come out of Rafael’s mouth.

Rafael turns off the water and gently inspects Sonny’s hand. “Oh thank god, that’s mild. Where does your mother keep first aid things?”

Sonny looks at his hand too, and also concludes that it isn’t too bad. He points to the cupboard he is pretty sure has a first aid kit and Rafael goes to collect it.

“Here, sit. Let me put some cream on it.”

Rafael applies the appropriate cream to his injured skin, handling him with care.

Eventually, Sonny speaks. “Did you really just propose to me?”

Rafael pauses, and looks to be considering his words. “I did. It just...slipped out?”

“Did you mean it?”

They are looking at each other intently now, sitting at the kitchen island with the sounds of the party in the background. Rafael is still holding Sonny’s hand.

“Yes, absolutely." He brushes his thumb across Sonny's skin. "Just not tonight. I had a plan and now I've ruined it.”

Sonny raises an eyebrow, “Oh, a plan? Tell me more.”

“New Year’s Eve,” admits Rafael. “You, me, naked in a hot tub with a bottle of expensive champagne.”

“Sounds like a great plan.”

“Yeah, better than me just blurting it out and you getting hurt. I’ve been thinking about proposing for a while now and being here with you, seeing you so happy with your family...the only thing that has been on my mind today has been how much I want us to be married by next Christmas.”

“Hey, come here,” Sonny says, opening his arms. Rafael accepts the hug gratefully. “I’d say yes however you’d propose to me, Rafael. I love you and I want to marry you.”

“I love you too. It’s why I want to do this right, I think we both deserve that. So can we try this again in a week?”

“One more week as just your boyfriend, however shall I survive?” Sonny teases.

Rafael grins, “Oh I’m sure we'll find a way to keep ourselves entertained.”

*******

The rest of their Christmas at the Carisi’s is hectic and wonderful in equal measure. Rafael joins them at midnight mass, and holds Sonny’s hand while they sing. They eat, drink, laugh, and kiss as much as they can (much to the embarrassment of the younger Carisi’s).

On their drive upstate, they talk about the future and what they hope for themselves. They spend several days cosied up in the woodland cabin, and a lot of that time in bed. Uninterrupted alone time with no work to be done is a rarity for them and they are determined to make the most of it.

On New Year’s Eve they relax in the outdoor hot tub, both enjoyably tipsy and handsy. They tease and explore each other in the warm water, tasting the champagne in each other’s mouths.

As midnight approaches, they head inside to get dry and Sonny wonders when exactly his soft romantic at heart man is going to pop the question. His curiosity is answered when he finishes preparing some snacks in the kitchen and enters the main living area to find the place lit not only by the huge Christmas tree that was set up when they arrived, but by a lot of candles. Rafael is there on bended knee, warm candlelight glowing around him and the soft sounds of a love song playing. Sonny thinks that he has never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

Rafael holds out his hand, Sonny steps forward and takes it. 

“Sonny Carisi,” he begins, his eyes are shining and Sonny feels lost in them. “You are what I love most in this world. I want to love, cherish, and protect you for the rest of my life.”

Rafael takes the box out of his pocket and opens it to reveal the ring to Sonny.

“Will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?”

Sonny has tears in his eyes now too, as he drops to his knees to join Rafael and pull his future husband into a fierce kiss. Rafael catches him in his arms and laughs delightedly between kisses, a most joyful sound.

When they separate, Rafael asks breathlessly, “So is that a yes?”

“That’s a hell yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it! Happy new year everyone, I wish for hope, happiness, and much more barisi fic for us all.


End file.
